Triathletes going all out for gold

August 2, 2012 17:08 pm

Great Britain's highly-rated women's triathlon team have promised to "go hard" as they bid for the hosts' first Olympic medal in the sport on Saturday morning.

Most of the attention in the build-up to the Games has focused on the all-conquering Brownlee brothers, who go into the men's race on Tuesday as favourites for gold and silver, but it could be a golden double for Britain. Wales' Helen Jenkins is the reigning world champion and won her last World Triathlon Series race in style in San Diego in May.

Jenkins has been among the most consistent of the top women over the past few seasons, with numerous podium finishes, but she established herself as arguably the favourite for gold when she dominated the test event over the Olympic course in Hyde Park last year.

The 27-year-old said: "It gives me great confidence to know I've won on this course. And obviously winning earlier this year in San Diego as well. Over the past few years I've had a lot of seconds and thirds but to step on top of the podium has really given me the confidence to know that if I get it right on the day then I can win.

"I've got so much support, it's really carried me forward over these past few weeks, and I just want to go out there and do my best and hope that's enough for a medal, just to thank all the people who've supported me along the way."

Jenkins will be joined on the pontoon by Vicky Holland from Gloucester and Leicestershire's Lucy Hall. The latter's status as one of the fastest swimmers in the sport earned her a spot, and it is no secret that Britain will try to split the pack and drop some of Jenkins' big rivals going into the bike leg.

Holland said: "One of the beautiful things about triathlon is you can never be sure who's going to do what on any given day. You have to be prepared for anybody and everybody to come out of the woodwork and have a really impressive performance.

"It's always been said that the winners in the triathlon at the Olympics have never been the favourites. Many of the girls are looking in great shape, as you would expect, this is the pinnacle of the sport. We've got our own plan of what we want to do. It would be remiss to go into that in too much detail but let's just say we want to go hard."

Jenkins believes the team approach, which was used successfully by Canada in Beijing four years ago to win Simon Whitfield a medal in the men's race, gives Britain the best chance of breaking their Olympic duck.

She said: "The aim for British Triathlon is to win a medal and I think the three of us working together are more likely to do that. We've got three of us committed to that."